\u201cThere are pressures on the [poultry] industry to make some significant management changes to their broiler flocks to address concerns about animal welfare and sustainability,\u201d says lead researcher Allison Pullin<\/a>, assistant professor of animal welfare in the Prestage Department of Poultry Science<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The research project, supported with funds gifted by General Mills, compares two breeds of broiler chickens with different growth rates (conventional fast-growing or slow-growing). Both breeds were raised in an indoor conventional poultry barn or with daily access to an outdoor silvopasture, an agroforestry environment with trees and foliage. General Mills\u2019 generosity also provided student research stipends and funding for other research expenses to fuel poultry science advances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pullin credits General Mills\u2019 partnership to NC State alumna Brooke Bartz, an R&D specialist with the company. Bartz earned her master\u2019s and Ph.D. in poultry science at NC State in 2016 and 2020, respectively. When General Mills pledged to adopt higher standards for animal welfare, Bartz suggested General Mills secure more data about the effects of housing environments on animal welfare, food safety and meat quality. She recommended they connect with NC State for help to generate data to inform best practices to improve these outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Initiatives like the “Better Chicken Commitment” and increasingly common claims like “free range” and “pasture raised” require slower-growing breeds, environmental changes or both. Modifying these management practices, says Pullin, could have significant economic impacts on farmers and consumers, so it is critical to have comprehensive evidence to justify the changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnfortunately, there\u2019s limited research and evidence guiding some of those changes,\u201d she says. \u201cIf we make changes too quickly, we may run into issues that could have negative impacts on animal welfare, food safety, meat quality and affordability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before research began with live birds, General Mills funded the team to develop a literature review summarizing what is already known about outdoor access and growth rates for poultry welfare, food safety, meat quality, and economics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The team learned that animal and product outcomes are highly variable with outdoor access environments and difficult to compare between studies because of the heterogeneity of breeds and farm conditions used. To develop reliable evidence to guide the industry, the team identified the need to standardize breeds and conditions to compare conventional production with outdoor access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They set up a research project with two breeds of broiler chickens raised in two housing systems (conventional or silvopasture) that ran from August to October 2024. Each environment housed a flock of 250 chickens per breed: a fast-growing breed that matures in about six weeks and a slower-growing strain that takes eight to 10 weeks to reach a standard 6-pound weight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The birds were divided into five replicate pens in each environment with 50 birds per pen. R&B Farms, a\u00a0 private farm in Angier, North Carolina, served as the site for the housing and paddocks for the silvopasture environment. NC State\u2019s Chicken Education Unit<\/a> in Raleigh housed the conventional indoor environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The three professors involved in the study are each gathering data from a different perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Animal Welfare <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pullin monitored the study from an animal welfare perspective. Using metrics like animal behavior, animal health and insights from psychology research on animals\u2019 mental states, she studies how different management strategies affect poultry welfare. The two breeds are being evaluated to see if one may be more suitable for a certain environment over another. Measurements like footpad dermatitis, leg bone strength and stress hormones will be coupled with behavior analyses to understand how using the environment affects other metrics. Pullin\u2019s graduate student Athena He-DeMontaron has been instrumental in the data collection efforts for her master\u2019s thesis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meat Quality <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yan Campbell<\/a>, an assistant professor and processing and products specialist who has a food science and technology background, is considering how the fresh meat quality differs between the two breeds and the two housing systems. Campbell\u2019s graduate student Jean Caceres is currently working on collecting meat quality data for his master\u2019s thesis research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFood companies want to know if the meat quality shows proof that it\u2019s better for animals to be raised in an environment like a silvopasture,\u201d Campbell says. \u201cOur assumption is that it may taste better in some aspects, but can we find out? We will test qualities such as texture, composition, drip loss and cook loss, and will conduct a sensory descriptive study of the taste difference. We\u2019ll also look at myopathy \u2014 a quality defect causing muscles to not develop properly, which can lead to chewier, tougher meat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Food Safety<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And Lin Walker<\/a>, assistant professor of applied microbiology, approached the project from a food safety angle. She studies how the micro load of Salmonella<\/em> differs between the two production systems and examines the differences in the gut microbiomes in the chickens raised in the different environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walker says there are many misconceptions among consumers regarding food safety, and as scientists, she and her peers are responsible for using scientific data to reveal the truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, \u201cWe think that birds might have better animal welfare when they\u2019re raised in an outdoor environment,\u201d she says. \u201cBut they are also exposed to all sorts of pathogens because the environment is less controlled. However, we need to find out if this exposure would really pose a risk in the poultry products for the consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The live trial wrapped in early October, and the professors are analyzing the data. Pullin and Bartz present details of the NC State and General Mills partnership on Nov. 6 at the Emerging Research Showcase<\/a> at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in Durham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pullin anticipates the team\u2019s findings will be shared in multiple peer-reviewed journals and other publications. While General Mills helped the study come to fruition, the data will benefit the entire poultry industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur impactful research could support companies trying to decide how to source their poultry proteins, which management practices to utilize and which types of genetic strains to pursue,\u201d Pullin says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Collaborations like these benefit not only the industry but also the university and its students. Pullin says most faculty members in her department have at least one project sponsored by an industry company or organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs a land-grant institution, NC State\u2019s mission is to serve the agriculture industry and to provide guidance, data and recommendations,\u201d Pullin says. \u201cHaving these direct relationships with companies invested in what we\u2019re doing helps us make real-world impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s more, the General Mills collaboration provided opportunities for graduate students and undergraduate students to get involved in testing, research, data collection and professional development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause of General Mills\u2019 financial sponsorship, we are able to expose our graduate students to the opportunity of solving real-life problems,\u201d Walker says.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n By Jessica Harlan<\/p>\n\n\n\n While terms like \u201cfree range\u201d and \u201cpasture raised\u201d are increasingly common labels on chicken products, three professors in NC State University\u2019s College of Agriculture and Life Science<\/a> (CALS) are delving deeper to better understand the housing environment\u2019s effect on poultry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are pressures on the [poultry] industry to make some significant management changes to their broiler flocks to address concerns about animal welfare and sustainability,\u201d says lead researcher Allison Pullin<\/a>, assistant professor of animal welfare in the Prestage Department of Poultry Science<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The research project, supported with funds gifted by General Mills, compares two breeds of broiler chickens with different growth rates (conventional fast-growing or slow-growing). Both breeds were raised in an indoor conventional poultry barn or with daily access to an outdoor silvopasture, an agroforestry environment with trees and foliage. General Mills\u2019 generosity also provided student research stipends and funding for other research expenses to fuel poultry science advances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pullin credits General Mills\u2019 partnership to NC State alumna Brooke Bartz, an R&D specialist with the company. Bartz earned her master\u2019s and Ph.D. in poultry science at NC State in 2016 and 2020, respectively. When General Mills pledged to adopt higher standards for animal welfare, Bartz suggested General Mills secure more data about the effects of housing environments on animal welfare, food safety and meat quality. She recommended they connect with NC State for help to generate data to inform best practices to improve these outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Initiatives like the \"Better Chicken Commitment\" and increasingly common claims like \"free range\" and \"pasture raised\" require slower-growing breeds, environmental changes or both. Modifying these management practices, says Pullin, could have significant economic impacts on farmers and consumers, so it is critical to have comprehensive evidence to justify the changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnfortunately, there\u2019s limited research and evidence guiding some of those changes,\u201d she says. \u201cIf we make changes too quickly, we may run into issues that could have negative impacts on animal welfare, food safety, meat quality and affordability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before research began with live birds, General Mills funded the team to develop a literature review summarizing what is already known about outdoor access and growth rates for poultry welfare, food safety, meat quality, and economics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The team learned that animal and product outcomes are highly variable with outdoor access environments and difficult to compare between studies because of the heterogeneity of breeds and farm conditions used. To develop reliable evidence to guide the industry, the team identified the need to standardize breeds and conditions to compare conventional production with outdoor access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They set up a research project with two breeds of broiler chickens raised in two housing systems (conventional or silvopasture) that ran from August to October 2024. Each environment housed a flock of 250 chickens per breed: a fast-growing breed that matures in about six weeks and a slower-growing strain that takes eight to 10 weeks to reach a standard 6-pound weight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The birds were divided into five replicate pens in each environment with 50 birds per pen. R&B Farms, a\u00a0 private farm in Angier, North Carolina, served as the site for the housing and paddocks for the silvopasture environment. NC State\u2019s Chicken Education Unit<\/a> in Raleigh housed the conventional indoor environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The three professors involved in the study are each gathering data from a different perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Animal Welfare <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pullin monitored the study from an animal welfare perspective. Using metrics like animal behavior, animal health and insights from psychology research on animals\u2019 mental states, she studies how different management strategies affect poultry welfare. The two breeds are being evaluated to see if one may be more suitable for a certain environment over another. Measurements like footpad dermatitis, leg bone strength and stress hormones will be coupled with behavior analyses to understand how using the environment affects other metrics. Pullin\u2019s graduate student Athena He-DeMontaron has been instrumental in the data collection efforts for her master\u2019s thesis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meat Quality <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yan Campbell<\/a>, an assistant professor and processing and products specialist who has a food science and technology background, is considering how the fresh meat quality differs between the two breeds and the two housing systems. Campbell\u2019s graduate student Jean Caceres is currently working on collecting meat quality data for his master\u2019s thesis research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFood companies want to know if the meat quality shows proof that it\u2019s better for animals to be raised in an environment like a silvopasture,\u201d Campbell says. \u201cOur assumption is that it may taste better in some aspects, but can we find out? We will test qualities such as texture, composition, drip loss and cook loss, and will conduct a sensory descriptive study of the taste difference. We\u2019ll also look at myopathy \u2014 a quality defect causing muscles to not develop properly, which can lead to chewier, tougher meat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nComparing Environments<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"a](\"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Chickens-with-Students-1024x683.jpg\")
Researching Three Perspectives<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
For this project, Pullin is investigating how the two breeds behave in and utilize the two environments. Conventionally fast-growing breeds tend to become more inactive with age, which can make them prone to footpad dermatitis if they have prolonged contact with wet ground. Wet ground could occur in either environment from manure or water. Slower-growing breeds tend to be more active, which may improve leg health and utilization of space, particularly in the silvopasture system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"two](\"https:\/\/cals.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Chickens-Indoors-1024x683.jpg\")
Sharing the Findings<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Comparing Environments<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Researching Three Perspectives<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
For this project, Pullin is investigating how the two breeds behave in and utilize the two environments. Conventionally fast-growing breeds tend to become more inactive with age, which can make them prone to footpad dermatitis if they have prolonged contact with wet ground. Wet ground could occur in either environment from manure or water. Slower-growing breeds tend to be more active, which may improve leg health and utilization of space, particularly in the silvopasture system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n